LPN going deaf. What kind of nursing can I do?

Jay-Jay, RN · Jul 14, 2004

I have a moderately severe loss in the left ear, and a severe loss in the right. Recently, the hearing in my right ear has deteriorated further, and I now am down to 10% in that ear. I'm not sure what the left is percentage-wise.

I do homecare nursing (visiting) and have almost total control over background noise. No night shifts, only the occasional evening. Might be worth looking into!

I have an amplified stethescope, and a really loud cellphone, and I get along pretty well. The cellphone can be a challenge, though, as a great deal of our communication is via voicemail.

nursnancy, LPN, RN · Jul 14, 2004

I have a moderately severe loss in the left ear, and a severe loss in the right. Recently, the hearing in my right ear has deteriorated further, and I now am down to 10% in that ear. I'm not sure what the left is percentage-wise.
I do homecare nursing (visiting) and have almost total control over background noise. No night shifts, only the occasional evening. Might be worth looking into!
I have an amplified stethescope, and a really loud cellphone, and I get along pretty well. The cellphone can be a challenge, though, as a great deal of our communication is via voicemail.

Wow, JJ! You inspire me. I think home health nursing would be just the ticket, especially if my hearing gets worse. Good luck to you!

FrankieJane · Jul 14, 2004

I am severely impaired in my left ear and dull normal in my right ear. As my hearing deteriorated, I found that I could actually feel the sounds in my ears through my stethescope (pulse, b/p, etc) so I haven't had to upgrade my stethescope yet.

I work on a small hospice inpatient unit and find that there is less noise than a med-surg floor. I also lip read well enough to help when there is too much backround noise. The only time I have any difficulty is on the phone when there is a lot of backround noise, so I take doctor and family calls in the most quiet room I can find.

My husband is going to take sign language classes with me. Even though I can compensate well at work with my hearing, if I am in a restaurant or a club...I can't hear him speak at all.

mother/babyRN, RN · Jul 14, 2004

I have worked with several nurses who suffered nerve damage and loss of hearing. Both are still in delivery and nursery using hearing aides. I hope you are able to continue doing what you love.

NurseKratchet · Jul 18, 2004

I'm curious I've also been diagnoised with meniere's about 6 months ago and my ent put me on maxide and it has helped me tremendously i went from daily attacks to one in the last six months.........are you currently taking anything for your symptoms i'm just curious.............I'll also cut out caffiene and alcohol but the sodium and nicotine is another story anyway i wish you the best and I'll pray for you the symptoms and the effects are tough................Ruthie

ayndim · Jul 18, 2004

I am an LPN, working on a hospital Geriatric Psych floor. I like my job and want to continue being a nurse. Several years ago I was diagnosed with Meniere's Disease, and over the years I've become completely deaf in one ear. I work on the 3-11 shift, so the second part of the shift is pretty quiet, but recently I've been finding it harder and harder to hear during the first part of the shift when things are more hectic and there's a lot of background noise. Hearing aids won't help with my deaf ear. It's profoundly deaf. I've made an appointment with my ear doctor to have my hearing checked again. He has told me in the past that I had a 50-50 chance of the disease eventually affecting the other ear. I fear that is happening now. I've worked a few times on the graveyard shift to see if that's better since it's quieter, but my Circadian rhythms are thrown off so much by staying up all night that it exacerbates the Meniere's symptoms of dizziness, etc the next day. I would love to hear some of your ideas of nursing jobs that would not be so stressful. Also, I'm interested in knowing if there are any deaf nurses out there and what they do.

When I had my last baby there was a (CNA or tech) who was completely deaf. She taught the big sister/big brother class and also did a discharge class. Dh took dd to the big sibling class. I didn't do the discharge class, as I didn't think it was necessary for a 3rd timer. I know she did other things too like vitals. She was so nice. You will find your niche if bedside nursing becomes too much. If you are getting your RN maybe management. I am sure there is something out there. If I was working with a deaf nurse (mind you I am still a student), I would not mind helping out if need be. As long as she returned the favor sometimes with something I needed help with. Otherwise it feels like you are being taken advantage of. I think it is horrible when nurse don't help each other out.

Jay-Jay, RN · Jul 19, 2004

Andrea, just curious to know, if she was totally deaf, how did she communicate with the students in the class? Lip-reading? Did she have a cochlear implant? I had a patient with one of them not long ago, and I was really surprised by how well he could hear with it.

ayndim · Jul 19, 2004

Andrea, just curious to know, if she was totally deaf, how did she communicate with the students in the class? Lip-reading? Did she have a cochlear implant? I had a patient with one of them not long ago, and I was really surprised by how well he could hear with it.

I am not sure. I tend to look at people when I talk to them so she could have been lip reading. Her speech was typically of people with a hearing loss from a young age. But I had no trouble understanding her.